Purdue 1 in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the first time ever.
Boiler manufacturers have agreed to be the number 1 in poll released on monday to rise from 2nd place last week. Defending national champion Baylor rose to second, with Duke, UCLA and Gonzaga rounding out the top five.
Purdue (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten), finished 2nd in consecutive seasons under Gene Keady in 1986-87 and 1987-88, matching its previous high of the week. first, received nine votes in first place then from 61 -individual vehicle panel.
The team’s side beat Florida State last week and opened the Big Ten with a 77-70 win over Iowa on Friday, sliding down the lead after No. 1 Duke previously lost to an Ohio State team. underrated, currently number 21. So far this week, Purdue has the second-most appearances in the AP poll – 379 weeks – for a school that has never been ranked #1 (Maryland, 434 weeks).
“They deserve to be number one,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said after the Purdue loss. “They can be vulnerable in many ways. They have depth, experience and caliber. It’s going to be a tough team to beat.”
Purdue was knocked out in the first round of last season’s NCAA tournament but returned eight of its top scorers, including the almighty forward Trevion Williams. Boiler makers can challenge teams in a variety of ways, from second-year guardians Jaden Ivey dribble attack to drop the ball at the post to 7-foot-4 second year Zach Edey.
Purdue is averaging 25.6 points per game, the most recent being a 7-point win over Iowa.
Purdue coach Matt Painter said: “You want to go into close matches and win. “It really gets you through the season.”
Zags fall
Gonzaga plays one of the nation’s toughest fixtures each season, and this year is no different. The Bulldogs (7-2) usually win big early-season losses but were unable to do so with that much frequency this year as they tried to integrate some new players.
Gonzaga looked unstoppable in early wins over Texas and UCLA. The Zags have not been dominant in their previous two games against AP’s Top 25 teams, losing to Duke in Las Vegas on November 26 and ahead of 16th place Alabama in Seattle on Saturday.
“I just think we have to have more of a sense of urgency,” big man Gonzaga Drew Timme speak. “We just have to fix it. But we have plenty of time to fix it. We’ll be fine.”
Grow and fall
Alabama (7-1) took its biggest leap in the polls this week, climbing seven places after its win over Gonzaga. Next is Southern California, up four places to 16th after wins over Utah and Washington State last week.
BYU had the biggest drop, falling 12 places to 24th after losing to Wyoming in extra time and overtaking Missouri State 74-68. Florida lost six places, sinking to 20th place after losing seven points to Oklahoma.
hello and goodbye
Ohio State is back in the Top 25 after a win over Duke. The Buckeyes dropped out of the November 22 poll after losing to Xavier.
LSU is 25th for the first time in nearly two years after extending its unbeaten run to eight games with a win over Ohio last week.
Memphis was dropped from the poll from 18th place after its losing streak stretched to three games with losses to Georgia and Ole Miss.
Michigan dropped out of 24th place after scoring just 51 points while losing to North Carolina by 21. The Wolverines have finished 4th this season.
Conference Clock
SECOND: 7 (Numbers 9, 10, 12, 13, 18, 20, 25)
Big Ten: 5 (Numbers 1, 17, 19, 21, 22)
Big 12:3 (Numbers 2, 7, 8)
Pac-12: 3 (Numbers 4, 11, 16)
Big East: 3 (No. 6, 15, 23)
WCC: 2 (No. 5, 24)
American Athletics: 1 (No. 14)
ACC: 1 (No. 3)
